Day 8: July 15th, 2010 (Tiberias and Jerusalem)

Woke up at 6:30 AM, packed up and put our luggage outside our room at 7:00 AM. Went downstairs for breakfast buffet. Hannah was exhausted and went back up to the room to rest. Both Hannah and Zack did not eat much for breakfast. After breakfast we went back up to the room to get our small bags and headed down to the bus around 8:00 AM. Everybody was pretty much on time and we headed out to a Cemetery just south of Tiberius. The Rabbi knew someone from Cherry Hill, NJ that was buried there whose name was Shellie Greenspan. We stood around her grave site and he told us the story of how she “bought” her way into the cemetery since most of the other people there were somewhat important. We didn’t spend that much time there and then drove by the first Kibbutz of Israel built in 1908. Our next stop was the official Baptismal site on the Jordan River.

The Baptismal site on the Jordan River

This is an extremely important place for religions that perform Baptisms. I did my part and stuck my picky finger into the water. We moved through there pretty quickly and then drove on to Belvoir where there is an old Crusader fort with a large dry moat and a great view of Jordan. It is one of the most intack forts in Israel.

It was another hot day out and we walked around the grounds for about an hour before heading back on to the comfort of AC on the bus. We continued to drive south and visited an old synagogue in Bet Alfa. The significance of this synagogue is the 1400 year old mosaic floor.

Mosiac Floor of Bet Alfa synagogue

You enter the room with the mosaic floor and watched a movie about the history of its creation. They had a pretty good souvenir shop so everybody shopped for a while. Zach bought a mosaic camel. It was lunch time so we went back to the bus and drove 15 minutes to Bet She’an. This is a national park with Roman ruins.

Scott at the ruins in Bet She'an

Before we walked around the ruins we stopped at their equivalent to a café and Zach got a chicken schnitzel in a pita and Hannah, Al and I had falafels. It was close to 100 degrees out so we sat at a table under a tree since they did not have indoor seating. After lunch we walked around the ruins and took pictures. Some people couldn’t deal with the heat so they stayed by the air conditioned gift shop while the rest of us sweat it out. We stayed for 45 minutes and then got back on the bus to start our 1.5 hour journey to Jerusalem. Everybody was very excited to go there. As we headed south, we went thru a border crossing into the West Bank. This area of Israel has been the site of a lot of violence since it is an area of contention with the Palestinians. As we drove south on highway 90 the Jordanian border was right next to us for a good portion of the drive. It was interesting to see the special fencing that surrounds the Israeli border.

Border between Israel and Jordan

There is an inner barbed wire fence than a stretch of open land with land mines and then another electronic barbed wire fence that has motion sensors on it so it can pinpoint exactly where the fence has been penetrated. Along the drive we would see Bedouin villages in the hills, shepherds tending to their flock, camels and even goats walking on the hilly slope. As we entered the city of Jerusalem our first stop was the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus where we had a good vantage point of the city.

The Saffrans on Mt. Scopus

We drink a cup of wine and did a special pray before getting back on the bus to the Leonardo Plaza Hotel where we arrived at 5:00 PM. The kids were in room 2012 and we were in 2014 so we both had a great view from our rooms. We settled in and then headed over to Ben Yehuda street where there are many shops and restaurants. We met a couple of other families and had dinner at Luigi’s (Italian restaurant). Zach had a pizza and Hannah, Al and I shared an eggplant parm, salad and sweet potato ravioli. I also had a Goldstar beer with dinner and when we hit our glasses together to do cheers, Scott R broke my glass. Hannah then found a hair in the salad so we needed a new one. Despite the mishaps we all enjoyed the food and company. After dinner we walked into a couple of stores but did not do much shopping because we were tired. Heading back to the room we came across a bunch of people doing a unique martial arts dance while other people played instruments and sang. We arrived back to the hotel around 9:30 PM and then met everybody at the bus at 10 PM to head over to the Western Wall.  There

Day 9: July 16th, 2010 (Jerusalem)

View from our room in Jerusalem

We did not receive our daily wake-up call but luckily woke up anyway at 7:10 AM. Got up and dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. Came back up to the room to brush up and headed down to the bus at 8:30 AM. Scott R and I did our over/under bet for what time everybody would board by. 8:45 AM was the over/under, I took the under and won. The first stop of the day was the Menachem Begin Heritage Center.

On the patio of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center

This is a museum in tribute of Menachem Begin who was one of the famous Prime Minister’s of Israel. Since our group was too big we had to separate in half for the tour. We were in the first group and finished 20 minutes ahead of the other group. The tour moved you from room to room explaining through a multi-media presentation where Begin grew up, his involvement in the military and ultimately his role as the Prime Minister. He is probably best known for signing the Peace Treaty with Egypt in the late ‘70’s. When we were done I walked around the building to a very old grave site and took some pictures.

Sculpture at old grave site

All throughout Israel you will find random historic sites and they are still finding many more with all the excavation they are doing. After the second group finished we went to the Yad Vaschem Holocaust Memorial established in 1954.

Inside Yad Vaschem Memorial

As with most memorials of this type it was a very emotional experience, especially the videos of the survivors and their personal experiences during the Holocaust. We spent almost three hours there and they kicked us out at 2:00 PM since they close early for Shabbat. The cafeteria was still open and we met everybody there for a late lunch. The kids were already at the café and had chicken schnitzel. Al and I split a chicken dish, fries, rice and a couple of muffins. The food was pretty good. After lunch we went back to the bus and our tour guide decided to walk us up to Mount Herzel.

National Cemetery

This is the National Cemetery where many famous Israelis are buried, including Herzel, Golda Meir, Rabin and other Government figures. There is also a Military Cemetery there where soldiers that are killed in the line of duty are buried. Since all Israelis must serve in the Military for three years (18 to 21 years old), not all Veterans are buried there. It is also interesting to note that every military grave site is exactly the same. There is a “bed” with a plant on it (yew?) and a “pillow” with the same standard inscription. You are not allowed to put your own personal words on it. By the time we finished with the cemetery it was already 3:45 PM and most of Jerusalem closes down to get ready for Shabbat, so we decided to head back to the hotel. We got back to the hotel around 4:00 PM and relaxed in the room for a while before showering up to get ready for the evening’s activities. At 6:30 PM however wanted met at the bus to take us over to the Western Wall for a quick Shabbat service.

Western Wall on Shabbat

On the way over we started seeing flocks of orthodox Hasidic Jews in their black garb and black hats heading towards the Wall. The bus let us off near the Dung entrance (named because that is where the Romans use to throw dung at the Jews) and we headed up the ramp to the Wall. It was quite a scene with people all over the place. Since the Wall has a separate area for men and women, I went with Zach and Al went with Hannah to our respective sections. Walking up to the Wall and finally touching it was truly a moving moment. As a Jew, I have seen pictures of the Wall and read so much about it but until I was finally there with all the Hasidim prayer it meant so much more. Zach and I had both written notes prior to coming to the Wall and we found our special cracks in the Wall to place our notes. I leaned my hands and head against the Wall and said a pray for my Aunt Beverly who just passed away the other day and a pray for my other relatives that passed away especially my Father. It is a very emotional place and you feel as though you are as close to G-D as you can get. Zach and I sat down on the plastic chairs they have in front of the Wall and absorbed our surroundings. All around you could see Jews of different types praying and getting very into the moment. As the official Sabbath time approached (7:20 PM) flocks of people began entering the area in front of the Wall. The other people in our group joined together at a prayer table and Rabbi Lewis led us in the Shabbat prays. Even though it did not matter, for some reason I noticed we had a minion of 10 people. I am not a highly religious person but this service seemed to take on a special meaning. As we looked on the other side of the fence, we noticed that the women were right there participating in our service too. During our service you could hear the loud chatting of the Hasidim and other small groups of Jews all doing their special thing. Occasionally you would see a soldier praying while he had his rifle slung over his shoulder.

Soldier praying at Western Wall

By the time we finished our service there must have been over a 1000 people by the Wall. After we finished our service at the Wall we met up with the women and started to walk back to the hotel. We walked thru the Arab shook area (old marketplace) where they were selling all sorts of spices, clothing, hookahs and much more. Since it was the Sabbath we did not stop to purchase anything and just continued on. We took about 30 minutes to walk back to the hotel. Al and I went back up to the room to change quickly for dinner and then headed downstairs to the dining room. Tonight was the Sabbath dinner for our whole group. The kids sat at a separate table from the adults so I don’t know what they ate. I had a salmon filet appetizer (Al had an avocado “tower”), I had the noodle soup (Al had the zucchini soup), for the entrée I had the chicken stuffed with veal, rice and pine nuts and Al had the steak and Cornish hen “duet”. We also brought our wine that we had purchased at the Golan Heights winery the other day and enjoyed that with our meal. For dessert there was only one option of the sampling plate with 5 different desserts on it. We hung talking for awhile and then headed back up to the room around 11 PM. We relaxed, watched TV and went to bed at 11:45 PM.

Day 10: July 17th, 2010 (Jerusalem)

Woke up at 7:45 AM and showered then headed down for breakfast at 8:25 AM. We then met in the lobby at 9:00 AM and went across the street to The Great Jerusalem Synagogue which is an Orthodox Synagogue. Then woman went upstairs to another section while the men went down to the main sanctuary. We stayed there for 45 minutes then headed down the street to another Synagogue that was conservative. In this Synagogue they spoke a lot of English so it was much easier to follow. We caught the second half of the service which lasted a little over an hour. Behind the Synagogue we had the Kiddush and then we took a tour of the Fuchsburg Center which runs the Synagogue. The Fuchsburg Center is part of the National Jewish Conservative Yeshiva that houses and teaches people conservative Judaism from around the world. The Director gave us a quick tour and then walked back across the street to our hotel and went back up to the room at 12:15 PM. We relaxed in the room until 1:00 PM and then headed downstairs for lunch. We had no scheduled plans for the afternoon so Al hung out and I took the kids to the marketplace in the old city (Arab Shuk). The shuk was a maze of little side streets where hundreds of vendors sold anything you can think of.

Arab Shuk

The kids were very focused on getting Israeli t-shirts and there was no shortage of them.

Rows of Hebrew T-Shirts

We spent hours there and the kids bought a few things. We walked back to the hotel and got to the room around 6:15 pm. I was exhausted and took a quick nap before meeting the group for Havdala at 8:15 PM. For dinner we walked over to Ben Yehuda street. Hannah and I split a falafel and Schwarma and Al and Zach had pizza. After dinner we walked around the shops that started opening up after the Shabbat and we bought Zach a couple of Kippas and Tafilin.

Kippa Center on Ben Yehuda

After a couple of hours we walked the 15 minutes back to the hotel and got back to the room around 11:45 PM. We finally went to bed around 12:30 AM.

Day 11: July 18th, 2010 (Jerusalem)

Woke up at 6:45 AM and showered then headed down for breakfast at 7:30 AM. Had our usual buffet meal and then went to the bus at 8:00 AM. We had a big day and our first stop was a camel ride at a gas station. On the outskirts of Jerusalem this gas station has a convenience store, shopping and camel rides.

The Rittenbergs in pain

A number of people went on the rides but the Saffran kids were not interested since they had been on a camel before. Instead we enjoyed watching some of the other people especially the Rabbi and his wife. We stayed for about 30 and continued our journey to Masada which was one and half hours from our hotel. Close to Masada we passed the cave where a Bedouin found the Dead Sea scrolls. We finally reached the base camp for Masada. Masada was a mountain top walled city that the Jews occupied thousands of years ago that the Roman Army tried to overtake. It took the Roman’s three years to finally succeed, but as a result, Masada has become a place of significance for Jews due to the fortitude and diligence of its inhabitants. All Israeli soldiers are taken there when they become officially sworn in. There are two ways to get to the top of the mountain; 1. Cable Car and 2. Walk. Because it was so hot out, they did not allow us to walk up so we had to take the cable car. When you get to the top you see the ruins of the city and learn about how the Jews fended off the Romans for so long. Also from the top you get amazing views of the surrounding mountains and of the Dead Sea which is close by.

Scott on top of Masada

We walked around for awhile and then a few of us decided to walk down the mountain. Zach and I walked and Al and Hannah took the cable car. The walk was not that bad but the sun was beating down on us pretty strong. As you descend there is a path, called Snake Path, not because of snakes but because it serpentines down the mountain. On parts of the path there were railings but not on the full length. We were commenting that one could easily descend too quickly and stumble off the path. It took about 25 minutes to get down the mountain. If we were allowed to go up the mountain it would have been quite difficult especially in the hot weather. At the base we spent some time at the gift shop where they sold Ahava products and the other usual Israeli souvenirs. Around 1:00 PM we boarded the bus and headed to the Dead Sea. It was about a 15 minute drive there and we stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel for the afternoon.
They must have a lot of tour groups because they had arranged for us to use the facilities without actually staying in their rooms. We ate lunch first and had a delicious buffet with a number of nice dishes. We ate pretty quickly since we were excited to go to the Dead Sea. We changed into our bathing suits and went past the pool area to the beach which was right on the Dead Sea. For those of us that had not been there before we didn’t know what to expect. We cautiously entered the water and instantly we felt the salt bottom and very hot water. As we walked further in and got into deeper water that’s when we experienced the phenomena. All you had to do was lean back in the water and you instantly floated.

Alan and Scott floating in the Dead Sea

It was a crazy sensation because you could not sink. Once we grew more accustom that’s when we leaned all the way back with our hands and feet out of the water but we still floated. Between the water and the outside temperature (116 degrees) we were feeling the effects. The problem was when we would sweat and the water would get in your eyes. One time I got salt water in both of my eyes and I was basically blinded. I had to work my way back to the chair on the beach and wipe my eyes off with a towel. It was also interesting to hear tanks firing in the distance and every so often a pair of F-16’s would fly by a few hundred feet above the ground. The middle of the Dead Sea is actually the border between Jordan and Israel.

Hannah and Zach in the Dead Sea (Jordan in the background)

I needed to cool off so I went over to the outside pool and jumped in for a while. The water was very refreshing. There was also an indoor pool with the Dead Sea water in it so I checked that out also. Mostly elderly people were in it since it was much safer and then dealing with the Sea. I floated in the water and relaxed for about 15 minutes and then worked my way back out to the Sea. Since we only had a few hours there I needed to maximize the experience. I decided to float in the shady part under the sun protector instead of baking in the open sun. Everybody had enough of the sun so we all walked back to the pool and played there for the last 45 minutes. The kids were having a great time playing chicken and the adults lounged around. When 3:50 PM rolled around we went inside, changed and met up with the rest of the group to board the bus. The bus ride home took about one and half hours so many of us closed our eyes and rested. We arrived back at the hotel around 5:45 PM and needed to be back down at 7:00 PM to meet for dinner. Since it was a holiday tomorrow night and the Rabbi was fasting we had our farewell dinner a night early. Everybody took the bus over to a restaurant called Olive and Fish. They brought over five different appetizers to the table which we shared family style all were very tasty. For dinner Zach and I had the steak (I had a Goldstar beer also), Al had the chicken (and a wine) and Hannah had the lamb and steak kabob. Zach did not like his steak and actually tried and enjoyed Hannah’s kabob. This was the first time he had lamb. For dessert they gave us a choice of an apple or chocolate tart. After dinner a bunch of people wanted to go shopping over on Ben Yehuda Street.

Scott on Ben Yehuda Street (Jerusalem)

Al was tired and went back to the room while I took the kids. We walked the streets for a while and then Hannah got tired and had to use the restroom so we walked back to the hotel. We got back around 10:30 and I did some blogging while Al was sleeping. I finally went to bed around 11:30 PM.

Day 12: July 19th, 2010 (Jerusalem)

Woke up at 7:00 AM showered and went downstairs for breakfast. Then went to the bus at 8:15 AM. Our first stop was the Western Wall and Robinson’s Arch where we set up for a Bat Mitzvah. One of the group’s daughter’s (Hannah Kalash). It was very interesting, we had a scheduled time near the Southwest corner of the Wall where we picked up a table, Torah, Seders and set up right in front of the Wall. The rocks from the destroyed second temple lay right in front of us.

Bat Mitzvah at the Western Wall

The ceremony was very nice and lasted about an hour. Three of recently Bar Mitzvah’d kids that were on the trip also participated as a symbolic gesture. After the service we returned the borrowed items and had a small Kiddush with drinks and cookies near the Dung Gate entrance. When we finished eating we took a tour of the southern portion of the Temple Mount and saw a video explaining what the Temple Mount used to look like. We then went over to the “true” Western Wall where Zach and I took pictures on the men’s side.

Zack in deep meditation at the Western Wall

There was a lot of police presence because they were getting ready for Tish B’Av which started at sundown. Tish B’Av is a holiday that commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temple. This is a heavily celebrated holiday especially in Jerusalem since the Temples’ destruction occurred at the Western Wall. When we finished at the Wall we headed over to the Jewish Quarter. Within the Old City there are multiple sections; Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Moslem. In the Jewish Quarter we grabbed some lunch. Zach and Al had pizza and Hannah and I had Falafels. Throughout the Quarter there were many Israeli soldiers most of them carrying M-16 automatic rifles.

Soldiers walking down the street in the Jewish Quarter

It was a very strange scene to see that many young kids with guns hanging out at the stores and restaurants. We finished lunch and went over to the Hurva (“ruin”) Synagogue. This was an old Synagogue that was recently renovated. The inside was nice but the best part of the tour was the view from the roof. We were able to get a 360 degree view of the surrounding area.

View from the top of Hurva Synagogue

After the tour we spent some time walking around the Cardo area of the Jewish Quarter. The stores were much nicer in this section than the Moslem Shook we had been in the previous day. Even though most of the stores sold very similar things, I.e. menorahs, Kippah’s, Kiddush cups, etc… we did buy a few presents. We shopped for one and half hours and then met the rest of the group. Instead of walking back through the Moslem section to get to the bus we walked the long way around the eastern and southern walls of the city. It was a nice walk even though it was a little hot out. By the time we reached the bus we were not that far from the hotel. Alan Silverman and I decided to walk around the outdoor Mamila mall since he wanted to get some new sunglasses. We had been to the mall before but this was the first time the stores were actually open. We went into a number of stores but could not find cheap sunglasses. There were some other cool stores including an interesting art gallery that sold 3-D cartoon art. On the way back we stopped at the supermarket and picked up some snacks (hummus, pita, fanta) and beers. Al and the kids were hanging out in the lobby having drinks, bread and a cheese platter. I went to the room, put the beers on ice and had a snack. An hour latter I joined Al at the restaurant downstairs in the hotel since many of the stores/restaurants were closed for Tish B’Av. For dinner, Al had the yam raviolis and I had the fusilli. When we finished dinner I went upstairs to get the kids because we needed to head out for Tish B’Av services. The Rabbi’s sister lives in Jerusalem and we met her and her congregation on an area on top of a mountain overlooking the city.

Kids sitting on a blanket for Tish B'Av services

There must have been about 150 people that congregated together and a Rabbi led the service. During the service we could see fireworks near the Western Wall. We found out that the Arabs actually shoot the fireworks because they want to celebrate the destruction of the Temple while the Jews are in “mourning”. We spent about one and half hours there and then the bus took us back to the hotel. Since it was our last night there we decided to meet up in the lobby for drinks and snacks around 10:00 PM. The kids played cards while the adults drank. We hung out until 12:15 AM and then headed back up to the room. We went to bed around 12:45 AM.

Day 13: July 20th and 21st, 2010 (Jerusalem and Atlanta)

Woke up at 6:45 AM showered and went downstairs for breakfast. Then went to the bus at 8:00 AM. We all have mixed feelings about leaving. We love it here and had a great time but it has been two weeks and we miss home. Our first stop was the Israeli Museum. At the museum there was a 1/50th scale model of old Jerusalem that took six years to build.

Miniature City of Jerusalem

Our guide explained the layout of the city and how it was back then compared to today. It was interesting to get a big picture view of the city especially after walking around it the last few days. Also at the museum was the Shrine of the Book. This is a structure that looks like a big Hershey kiss and houses the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Zack holding up the Shrine of the Book

We walked around inside the building but no pictures were allowed. We spent a couple of hours at the museum and then boarded the bus to our next location. We drove by the Knesset

Knesset Parliament

which is Israel’s Parliament building and continued for another 30 minutes to the outskirts of town to Latrun. Latrun is Israel’s Armored Corp Museum/Memorial. A soldier of the Armored Corp division was our guide and she took us around. Latrun was the site of a British Police building and an armored tank battle. On the grounds of Latrun there must have been close to 50 tanks from different countries and different time periods.

Kids on top of an Israeli Tank

Our guide showed us the cross section of a real tank and explained the roles of the various crew members. In addition, they had the modern Israeli tank that is currently in duty. You were allowed on most of the tanks but not inside of them. Next she showed us the memorial wall of fallen armor corp soldiers. Within the old police force building they had a few exhibits including a video of the corp, a database of the fallen soldiers and a detailed video of each soldier that was killed on the specific day of the year, i.e. who was killed on this date. There are only two dates out of the year that no one was killed on. After she finished her walking tour they gave us time to check out all the tanks on the grounds. Hannah and I went on a bunch of the tanks and took some pictures.

Dad being silly

They had a great sampling of tanks from past and present. We then met up with everyone in the gift shop and then boarded the bus. Allison wanted to go shopping in a different part of Jerusalem so we asked the bus driver to drop us off at a street called Emek Refa’im.

Zack on Emek Refa'im

The Rittenbergs decided to join us also. This was in a nicer part of town and had more upscale stores. We went into a spa store and Hannah bought some exfoliating scrub. It was time for lunch so we stopped at a nice pizza place and each had a slice and a drink. We then picked up a cookie at the bakery and fries at McDonalds for Zach. Continuing down the street we came across a gelato store called Alda and Al and I split a couple of scoops while Zach had a cone. Across the street was a supermarket and we picked up some candy and chocolate bars to bring back home. We started walking back to the hotel but figured out we were going the wrong direction so we backtracked and grabbed a cab. We got back to the hotel around 3:30 PM and packed up our stuff. We finished packing around 5:30 PM and then put our luggage outside our room at 7:00 PM and headed downstairs at 7:30 PM to take the bus to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.

The kids with Scmuel at Ben Gurion Airport

It took awhile to go through security and they pull one of our bags to the side to double check. They seemed to have a concern with Hannah’s toothpaste (go figure). At the airport we spent time getting our VAT reimbursement and exchanging our left over Israeli money. Luckily we gave ourselves a lot of time to get to the airport but by the time we made it through security we were rushing to grab some food before boarding. I had a chicken laffa from McDonalds and Al and Zach had a Pizza Hut pizza. Hannah bought a tuna sandwich and ended up throwing it away. We boarded the plane and took off around 11:30 PM. I watched three movies (Green Zone, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Clash of the Titans). I slept a few hours but not very restful. We finally landed at 5:45 AM local time and waiting on line at passport control for a while because their computers went down. Al’s parents picked us up at the airport at 7:15 AM and we went to IHOP for breakfast. We finally made it home at 9:00 AM after a wonderful two week experience in Israel.